The recent popularity of in-line roller skates has spawned many new sports, including roller hockey. Roller hockey is particularly popular because it can be played in both warm and cold climates and thus has a wider potential geographic appeal than ice hockey. Roller hockey can be played on any flat, relatively smooth surface such as a parking lot or other paved surface. The game is enhanced if an enclosure similar to ice hockey rink boards encloses the rink.
One method of enclosing a roller hockey rink is to use conventional ice hockey rink boards, known as dasher boards. Conventional dasher boards, however, have the disadvantage of being costly to obtain as well as time-consuming and difficult to install. Furthermore, the materials used in the construction of conventional dasher boards, typically wood and steel, are too heavy to make them conveniently portable. Portability has become increasingly important over the past few years with the advent of roller hockey tournaments that travel from site to site. At the conclusion of such a tournament, which typically lasts a day or a weekend, organizers pack up the tournament equipment, including the rink board system, load it onto a truck and head to a new location to conduct a similar tournament.
One known form of portable rink board system uses an inflatable wall which encloses the rink. While having the advantage of being portable when deflated, this type of system is expensive and requires the use of electric inflating machines to assemble the system. Furthermore, the system is vulnerable to inadvertent leaks and punctures, necessitating special care and maintenance. Also, the inflated walls of the system do not adequately mimic the hardness of the walls of a conventional hockey rink. This affects the flight of pucks or balls that deflect from the walls during regular play.
Another form of portable rink board system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. D349,738. This system incorporates vinyl-wrapped foam barriers that are placed around the rink. This type of system, however, does not accurately reproduce the shape or response of ice hockey dasher boards, and therefore sacrifices performance for affordability and portability.
Accordingly, there is a need for a wall board system for roller hockey rinks which is quick and easy to assemble, relatively inexpensive to produce and which accurately reproduces the shape and deflection response of conventional ice hockey dasher boards.